A Different Take, Human Trading
by The Dark Crimson Blood
Summary: A different take on what might have happened if Sabo and Ace didn't arrive on time to save Luffy...Oneshot


**Author:** _The Dark Crimson Blood_  
**Story Title: ****_A different take, Human trading_****  
Word Count:**_ 1,943  
_**Disclaimer: **_Don't own it.  
_**Warnings: AU, OOC .  
Summary**: A different take on what might have happened if Sabo and Ace didn't arrive on time to save Luffy...

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Take slow breaths, make slow movements, and don't do anything to disobey the people in charge.

Those were a few obvious things he had learned how to do; even if he didn't exactly follow the last one. Taking slow breaths prevented him from choking on a red substance that tasted like iron, his blood; taking slow movements prevented his fragile, slowly healing bones to continue the healing process without breaking under the pressure, or sudden movement; not to mention how lightheaded he became during those rare moments when he was forced to make sudden movements. It was pure reflex, he couldn't help it.

Disobeying the people in charge always led to more injuries; some worse than the others, it was a good idea to avoid angering anyone above you if you didn't want to be killed or punished. It's not like anyone was going to treat your wounds anyway.

It had been like this for three years now, and Luffy was now at the age of ten.

He wondered if he was lucky he hadn't been killed by Bluejam, and he wondered what things would've been like if he had become friends with Ace, he wondered if he would've been saved.

No, of course not; someone weak like him was useless compared to Ace and Sabo.

Though it would've been nice; he thought dejectedly, looking out a small window that was blocked by bars.

He didn't have his hat anymore; it had been left behind the day he had been taken away from his supposed home, it had been ripped off his head and left in the dirt.

He wouldn't be able to return it to Shanks now, he wouldn't be able to become the Pirate King now; he couldn't do anything now.

Wasn't it his fault for not being strong enough? He was…, weak… So, so pathetically weak that it made him sick.

He wondered if he was still that way; he had survived this long, so that had to be a good thing right?

But what was waiting for him in the future? More of this in humanlike torture, or, freedom…?  
He wanted to desperately become a pirate; sailing the seas without a care on his mind, he wanted freedom.

He wanted to be the pirate king.

The man with the most freedom in the world; he would never give up on his dream; not after all of the meaningless torture and dream crushing things he's been through.

He wouldn't break like that; ever.

Something big happened when he turned twelve; he was moved from one location to another, overseas! On a ship! Even though he could only barely see, he saw part of the ocean he loved so much; he smelled the fresh air that was mixed in with seawater, he smelled freedom.

Even though he was chained down with seastone, he felt just a tiny bit freer.

He made a friend that day, a friend who had been looking at the sea with the same eyes and excitement Luffy had. Though he looked a lot weaker than Luffy, scrawnier, duller; sadder; the child was roughly a year older than him; but that didn't matter.

They had a lot in common, and they had even decided that if they got out—no when they escaped, he would join Luffy's crew as a first mate; and things had begun to look up from there, Luffy had something to look forward to when returning to his cell after either a day of work, auctioning, or anything else he'd rather not speak of.

Though he smiled

A smile he knew hadn't appeared on his face for years.

Because he was happy to have a friend in this horrible place, but then he died; the nameless boy died from blood loss one day when receiving a rather large wound in vital area.

Luffy had been soaked in his blood, since he had been the one trying to help the boy who couldn't be saved.

It didn't work; and he failed.

He never left the puddle of blood, his hands shook as he stared at them with wide eyes and a drop of blood rolled down his cheek; the dead body was laid in front of him.

The jailers threw his body into the ocean mercilessly; and nearly killed Luffy for disobeying them.

It was after that mess that he realized that he was never going to escape, at least; not alive.

It was impossible, especially with the sea stone chaining he had attached to him; he never said a word after that, not even a single complaint; he didn't even react.

The 'masters' decided he was boring now and cast him aside, they even began feeding him less; not that two loafs of bread a day with a cup of water was a lot.

Things, in a way; were normal for Luffy, until turned thirteen and he met a small group of children no older than seven; the same age he had been when he was brought into this hell hole.

He tried his best to free them; and it was a success, he managed to free himself of the chains by constantly beating them against the ground and other hard things until they finally gave, breaking into hundreds of pieces and revealing raw, bleeding, red skin in their place.

Luffy had been overjoyed that they were off, but he couldn't celebrate yet; he had been lucky, even the two guards had fallen asleep watching them.

He stole a small boat and helped each one of the children onto it, there wasn't room for him since they needed room for the food they had saved over the past two weeks, and the water; as well as blankets. Luffy wished them luck and pushed them off, placing a small compass he had managed to steal on the lap of the eldest.

They were gone.

He felt as if he had accomplished something, and so his smile didn't drop that day. Not even with the guards found him and roughly threw him back into his cell, not even when they chained him up even tighter so he wouldn't escape again, not even when they alerted the owner and he was punished; and for a week nothing phased him.

At fourteen, a miracle happened.

Pirates came.

They raided the floating slave trading boat swiftly, and apparently; due to the captain's demands, they released each and every one of the prisoners.

He was terribly injured at the time, there were at least ten bullets intentioned in his chest; his ribs were broken too, that was obvious; and there was a large gash on his side that wouldn't stop bleeding.

He could only lie on the ground and watch the miracle happen; he couldn't even moan in pain when a man picked him up(carefully as possible) and carried him away, down the dark hallway and out onto another ship he had never seen before.

The fresh air he had missed so much entered his nostrails,

The clear blue sky was easily viewed and lit up his eyes immensely,

Was this… Freedom? He thought, feeling the man's footsteps speed up and seeing the worried expression on his face.

What was wrong?  
Was there something wrong with him?  
No, that couldn't be; he didn't feel anything.

Everything went by like a blur until he was finally lying down on some sort of hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling with bandages nearly hiding his entire body.

"We couldn't stop the bleeding" He heard someone say, what bleeding? He frowned, turning towards the two people who had just entered the room, one had raven hair with black eyes while the other had black eyes and blonde hair.

They looked so, familiar.

"Sa… Sabo" Luffy asked the man, it clearly pained him to talk; the other turned to the teenager on the bed with a surprised expression, "You know me?"

Luffy nodded weakly "A-A little" he turned to the other man in the room, "Ace?"  
He looked completely and utterly confused.

"You don't r-remember me?" Luffy asked slowly, the two shook their heads and didn't miss the look of sadness in Luffy's eyes. "I'm Luffy… Monkey D. L-Luffy" he paused, coughing multiple times and allowing blood to pour from his mouth, had he punctured a lung?

"Luffy?" Sabo was the first to speak up; Ace was too shocked to speak as he went through his memories,

_"What did you do with Luffy?" A ten year old Ace had asked, bo staff in hand and a glare on his childish; freckled face_

_"Ah, you weren't quick enough; I see. Luffy's the name of that child? We sold him to human trading, since he'd make a bigger amount of money if we traded him instead of killing him. We got back the money you stole from us too, so we're even!" Bluejam laughed loudly, it such a simple action managed to instantly piss Ace off; Sabo stood there speechless, dropping his staff to the ground at the very mention._

_"What…?" Ace growled out in place of Sabo, who couldn't say a word._

_"You heard me!" He laughed even louder than before, "Slave trading, such a horrible torturous place; isn't it? He'll be tortured and forced upon everyday! He'll be lucky if he survives for more than a month- no, a week!"_

"And to think, what would have happened if you had come just a little sooner; or given my money back in the first place! That brat's pretty much dead by now, maybe he should've told me where your treasure was… That was such a stubborn brat, whining on and on about how that treasure was yours and crap. I guess this was the outcome, congrats; you get to keep your treasure! HAHAHAHA" Bluejam finished, turning around and leaving the two.

_Ace had become silent as well, moving only to pick up the dirty straw hat that now lingered in the world without an owner. _

_The only thing that remained was guilt._

"Ah! So you do remember!" Luffy laughed weakly, "Up until last year I kept thinking that you'd save me… Kinda childish, isn't it? But I guess you did, otherwise I wouldn't be here! I wish I could've been stronger though, so I wouldn't have gone through all of the torture and ra…" He didn't let the words leave his mouth; the blood only fell out quicker; staining the pure white sheets with dark, sticky blood

"T-Thanks for saving me," Luffy stuttered, never noticing the sad look the nurse gave him as his eyes closed and he drifted into a sleep he would never wake up from.

His heart stopped beating

His pulse disappeared completely

Yet a smile lingered on his face.

And because of that, the guilt came at the two of them ten times worse than before.

* * *

**AN**

**Have I been depressed lately? I seem to only be writing depressingly sad stories lately... Is there something wrong with me? Anyway, hope you enjoyed; cya.**

_**~The Dark Crimson Blood**_


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